After some initial installation teething issues with tire change over (lug bolts) by the local Kaltire techs, the actual performance of these tires on my Mini Cooper is as expected. The r3's create less road noise than the r2's (still on my Honda CR-V), but the jury is still out on the r3's winter handling - as we've not had too many snow days to give them a full test. Certainly, the r2's were definitely one of the best non-studded winter tires on the market at the time, for hard-packed snow and ice. We'll see if the r3's are an equal match.